Firewhiskey and Dark Marks
by SwankifiedOzDust
Summary: Harry Potter's marriage is ending. A chance meeting with Draco Malfoy has him realizing exactly how he can make his situation better. Draco/Harry. Strong sexual content for mature readers only.
1. The Beginning of the End

Harry Potter was sitting unhappily in front of his wife. This was the end, wasn't it? With the kids off at school, the Potter marriage was falling apart. There hadn't been much keeping them together except for three children and a godson. Nineteen years. They'd kept this up for nineteen years. Harry held his head up with both of his hands while Ginny rattled on about her half of the custody rights. She'd get them for Christmas this year. He'd get them on Boxing Day. They would divide birthdays into two halves. Half the day with the mother, the rest with the father. Harry couldn't believe this was happening to him.

At the same time, Harry knew it was inevitable. They just weren't right for each other. Not then, definitely not now. Hermione had once asked Harry why they had gotten together in the first place. "I felt that was what was expected of me and, if I had to marry someone, I would have rather married her," he had told her. She was an excellent mother and wife, but neither could satisfy the other. He'd caught her with Neville a few months ago. They had decided to try to work things out, but they both gave up quickly.

Harry didn't know why they had even tried. It wasn't like he was attracted to her. His friends knew about this aspect of his life. Hermione was much more understanding than Ron had ever or would ever be. He wasn't hurt when Harry and Ginny had announced their impending divorce.

Why was it so hard now? Harry supposed it was because Ginny had been his friend for years now. He'd saved her life. She had given him happiness. They were friends; she was the father of his beautiful children. That was all. That was why it was so hard too. A part of Harry was glad it was over. It meant no more pretending, but he knew it would be difficult for all his children, especially when they learned the real reason behind Ginny's affair.

"Gin," he said quietly. She looked up at him and closed her mouth, something which was difficult for her because of her blood. "Ginny, I just want this to be as smooth as possible. I know you want the same. I just… Don't you think we've done enough today? I'm tired. My head hurts. I'd like to get a drink, maybe talk to Dean or Seamus." Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had tried denying their relationship for years after the war, but after a while, they just decided to let everyone else in on the secret everyone else already knew.

"You aren't going to ask them to find you a…" Ginny couldn't finish the sentence.

"Boyfriend? No. Not that. I just… Wanted to talk to them. Maybe they could tell me where to go from here. They've been together for ages and I know that both of them have been in a similar situation," Harry muttered. Both of them had dated Ginny at one point. He knew it was a sore spot for her now. Two of her old boyfriends were now seriously in love with each other and her husband was leaving her because he was "bent" as she had first so delicately put it.

Ginny frowned. She twirled her red hair along one of her fingers. "Harry, I really am sorry it has come to this. I love you," she admitted for the fourth time this week.

"I know. I'm sorry too. You know I love you as well, but my love is more platonic than you needed it to be. I'm sorry that I couldn't be what you needed, but I hope that you can find someone who is exactly what you need." He meant it too. He meant it more than anything.

"When should we tell the children?" she asked him. This was, of course, the biggest question. Immediately following that would be how to tell them, followed by how they would take it.

Harry shrugged. "We should do it in person. I don't want them to have to find out over the Christmas Holidays though. When we get everything finalized, we should take the day off work and go see them. I'm sure McGonagall would allow it. If needed we could always go one weekend to tell them," he suggested. Ginny nodded. Harry stood. "Look, I'm going to go out. I'll see you when I get home. I'm going to try not to be too late." She nodded again, wiping away a few of her tears. With a loud pop, Harry disapparated to The Leaky Cauldron.

The Leaky was quiet on this Tuesday night. A few people were scattered about the bar, a handful sat in a cluster at two tables. That was it. No one else. Usually Dean or Seamus could be found here. Harry had sent an owl a few nights ago asking if they could meet up sometime, but they had never set a date to sit and talk. Harry had only come here on a hunch. Neither were there. He took a seat at the bar and asked for a firewhiskey. He was glad for the burn as he poured it down his throat.

"Alone, Potter? Lost your friends, have you?" came a familiar cold voice. Harry glanced over.

"That's none of your business, Malfoy." The blond huffed and slipped off his bar stool. "What do you want?"

Malfoy smirked. Harry cracked a smile. They'd been on friendlier terms lately, but they continued to use almost exclusively their surnames. Draco took a seat closer to Harry. "You look tired," he commented.

Harry sighed and motioned for another drink. It was replaced quickly. "Well I am tired. Gin and I are divorcing," he said. He chuckled dryly, just to make it hurt less. It wasn't very effective.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Draco said sincerely. Harry shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, Astoria and I haven't seen each other in four years except to take Scorpius to King's Cross and for Christmas and his birthday." It did make Harry feel better, oddly. He liked knowing that he wasn't entirely alone in this. "Do your children know yet?"

"No, not even _The Prophet_ is aware of it, yet," Harry said with a slow, sad shake of his head.

Draco's brows raised. "Well they will have to know sometime. The kids, not the press," he added. Harry laughed.

"I know. It's just so difficult to tell them that their parents will no longer be living together, that we're going to have them living in different houses and that nothing will be the same while they are away from school. I don't want to have to rattle their worlds, but this is exactly what we're doing to them," the brunette mumbled. Draco frowned and set a hand on Harry's shoulder. He rubbed it for just a second and then retracted his hand.

"Do you mind if I ask why this is happening?" Draco asked softly. Harry furrowed his brows. He shook his head. "Ah. I understand."

"No. Listen to me. I can't say it, but I, uh, I don't mind showing you," he said. Draco gave Harry a confused look while the Gryffindor wiped out his wand and did a quick charm which spelled out his "affliction."

On the bar counter, in red scratches, Harry had written, "I'm gay." Draco wasn't shocked or upset about it. He had always had his suspicions. "That would make sense," Malfoy murmured.

"Yeah. Ginny has had an affair recently and I told her that I haven't ever really fancied her. We decided to get a divorce a few weeks later," Harry explained very quietly. He didn't want anyone else to overhear and he didn't like admitting it anyway.

Draco ordered himself another drink at that point. "Famous Potter fancies it up the arse. Who would have thought," he muttered. He smiled to himself. Of course he had known.

The look on Draco's face didn't pass Harry. "What? You knew?" he accused.

"You were obsessed with me, Potter. You don't spend six years following around a bloke and ignoring other girls if you are straight, you know," Draco pointed out. Harry blushed heavily.

"You were obsessed with me too, you know!" Harry exclaimed a little louder than he had wanted to.

Draco's face flashed with anger at Harry's words. "You have no idea how incorrect you really are, Potter! I spent those years sinking deeper and deeper into the worst world I have ever seen. I watched so many die. I helped so many die because my father, _my father_ asked me to. Do you know what I witnessed? Do you know what Voldemort made me do? You have no idea what it was like for me! I didn't have time to be obsessed with you. I was too busy thinking I was going to die if I didn't do something right. I may have fancied you secretly, but I couldn't dwell on it like you could," he snarled into Harry's face. He hadn't meant to admit to having liked Harry when they were school-aged, but that didn't matter. He stood up to leave, but Harry, dumbstruck, grabbed Draco's wrist and pulled him back.

"You fancied me, Draco?" Harry asked quietly. Draco nodded his head. "I fancied you too, but I suppose you already figured that out. I'm sorry if what I said offended you. I didn't mean it like that. I just… I'm sorry. It was stupid."

Draco glared down at Harry. He let out a sigh and grabbed his drink. After chugging it in one go, he sat back down. "So now the question remains: What do you want to do about this?"

"What do you mean?"

Draco had to roll his eyes. "Don't be so thick, Potter. We've just admitted we have found the other attractive. We can do nothing about it. We can forge a friendship, which would benefit our sons, seeing as Scorpius says he and your youngest boy are friends. Or we can go back to my place, get drunk, and fuck. It's up to you."

Harry's eyes widened at this statement. He spent some time stammering, trying to make a sentence but couldn't make his mouth move in the correct ways. Draco closed his eyes for a second. "Fine then. I'll see you around, Potter. I hope your divorce goes smoothly," he stated before slapping down some money for his drinks. He shrugged on his jacket and then disapparated.

Harry sighed and decided now was probably a good time to leave too. It was unfortunate that Draco had not given Harry time to gather his thoughts because Harry had found the idea rather arousing. He would have really enjoyed shagging Draco or getting shagged by him. He sighed, paid for his drinks and left for home as well.

When he got there, he was surprised to find Ginny gone. She hadn't mentioned leaving. He shrugged it off. It didn't matter anymore. Their marriage was almost totally dissolved anyway. Harry grabbed the best bottle of Ogden's Old and took it up with him to his new bedroom. He had taken up residence in the guest room, while Ginny had continued to sleep in the room they used to share.

Harry fell asleep after about an hour of drinking. His dreams that night were plagued by grey eyes and a mouth on his hard cock. When he woke in the morning, after cleaning off the cum coating his underwear, he penned a quick letter to one Draco Malfoy and sent it with his owl. Maybe this divorce wouldn't be too bad after all.


	2. Veritaserum

Malfoy ignored Harry's letter for a few hours. He'd gone home with a horny Muggle man. After a less than satisfying two hours, Draco had gone back to his manor. An owl was waiting for him with Harry's letter when he woke up that morning. He didn't read it until after breakfast.

_Malfoy,_

_I've considered your offer. I think I'd rather like to take you up on your proposition. I've never been with a man. So long as I'm divorcing my wife because of my preference, I might as well enjoy this new lifestyle and who better to teach me to enjoy myself than you? Let me know when we can start._

_Potter_

_P.S. I don't want Ginny to know about all this. I don't want her to actually have to face these decisions. I think it would hurt her to know for a fact that I'd like to act on my sexuality._

Draco smirked at the quick note. So Harry had been interested after all. This was good news for Draco, to say the least. He thought Potter would look very nice in a rather submissive position. He thought it would be intriguing to finally have the upper hand, so to speak. If they were going to do this, Draco wasn't going to let Harry top him first.

He grabbed his own piece of parchment and a pen.

_Potter,_

_I'll try to be subtle, but I rather do enjoy imagining the embarrassed blush on your wife's face as she reads exactly when I'd like to show you the proper way to fuck and be fucked by a man._

_That wasn't too blunt was it?_

_Anyway, I'm glad to see the change of heart. Meet me for dinner Friday night at seven. We'll meet at The Leaky, but we won't be eating there. I'd like you to dress in nice Muggle clothes. We'll be out in Muggle London for a while._

_Do not miss this opportunity, Potter._

_Malfoy_

Harry, of course, was not going to miss this, even though he was a bit frustrated with Draco's choice of phrasing. Ginny was home by the time Harry woke up, but she had made little appearance. She wasn't awake when Draco's proud eagle owl had tapped on the window, which was indeed a good thing because he didn't know if he would be able to handle her rage if she saw the letter. His response was a quick one: "I'll be there." He didn't feel like he needed to say anything else.

The rest of the week went by slowly for Harry, quickly for Draco who was busy restocking his Veritaserum and other potions he liked to keep on hand in his home. He might have revoked his status as a Death Eater, but Draco Malfoy still practiced a few exercises that might have just been a little bit typical of Dark Wizards. He was an accomplished potion maker, though. Making potions was just part of his everyday life. If he was going to have Harry Potter at his house and in his bed, Draco wanted to make sure he wasn't being lied to. The truth serum was important. He also had a few calming droughts to make, as well as a sobriety potion. He also regularly kept polyjuice potion available.

Finally Friday night came and Draco sat at the bar, waiting for Harry Potter, Saviour Extraordinaire. He was clad in grey wool trousers, a soft blue turtle neck jumper and a slightly darker jacket. His hair was slicked back for the most part, but a few strands of his fringe hung over his eyes. Potter came into Draco's view. Draco thought he looked like sex walking with his dark jeans and handsome dress shirt. Draco smirked. Harry's hair never could lie flat and it always looked like the man had just rolled out of bed.

"Was this the best you could do, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. Harry frowned and looked down at his clothes. He was not comforted by the smirk on Draco's face.

"Sod off," Harry grumbled. Draco laughed. Harry's heart lifted. It had been a while since he had heard such a lovely sound.

Draco set an arm around Harry's shoulders and dragged him outside of The Leaky. "Come on, you rotter. I'm hungry and I want something to drink. I know just the place," he said.

"You know, as long as we're doing this, maybe it would be prudent to call each other by our first names. Don't you think?" Harry suggested.

Malfoy rolled his eyes again and lightly cuffed Harry on the back of the head. "No. People would get suspicious, Potter."

It only took them a minute to get to the restaurant. There, they got a secluded booth and a bottle of red wine to share. "So, _Harry_, how far are you willing to take this? I am assuming this would be your first time experiencing anything with a man. Have you ever even kissed another bloke?" Draco asked. He smiled at the slow shake of Harry's head.

"That still doesn't answer the first question."

"I think I'd like to go as far as I can. You would listen, right, if I needed to back out of this?" Harry asked just a little bit sheepishly. Draco nodded with a mischievous spark to his eyes. Harry wasn't sure if this look was meant to comfort him or not.

The meal itself was delightful. They shared a steak among other things, but mostly talked and caught up. After dessert, a rich chocolate cake, the pair decided to head to the mostly empty Malfoy Manor. Aside from the staff of House Elves, only Narcissa was home, but she kept to herself for the most part. In fact, she was already asleep by the time Draco apparated to the front door with Harry holding onto his arm. Astoria, Draco's wife by name only, had her own flat in London. Draco didn't mind paying for it if it meant he never had to see her.

Soon Draco had a two bottles of Merlot on the coffee table, one already empty, with one vial of Veritaserum already gone. They'd been playing a little game.

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's see… I can't produce a Patronus," Draco confessed after Harry admitted to his dream from the night before.

Harry ran his hand through Draco's hair, his smile fading. "You can't?"

"Nope. I guess it's just because I haven't had a very happy life. You have to have powerful memories to produce a Patronus. They need to be at least a little happy. I don't have any of those. I've tried. You know, thinking about when my son was born, but then I get to thinking about his _mother_ and that ruins it," Draco sighed. He was just a little bit drunk. He'd given each of them half a sobriety potion so they couldn't be entirely drunk, but not entirely sober either. He laughed and rubbed Harry's thigh. His head was resting In Harry's lap.

"'S your turn," Draco reminded after a moment of silence.

Harry looked back down at Draco only to see a single tear sliding from the corner of one eye. He furrowed his brows as he swiped it away. "I think you're too beautiful to have had the sort of life you've lived," he whispered. Draco almost didn't hear him. He leaned up then, setting his glass on the coffee table. Once he'd maneuvered himself out of Harry's lap and turned a bit so that he was facing Harry, Draco pulled Harry's mouth against his own and kissed him deeply. At first Harry didn't respond. He just took what was given to him, but that was alright by Draco. After a few moments Harry did respond. He opened his mouth a little bit more, allowed Draco's tongue (beneath the merlot, was that citrus Harry tasted?) to breach his lips and plunder him, making Harry's knees soften and his hands convulse. Draco loved that Harry felt so raw. Harry loved that Draco was so much different than a woman. He loved the stubble on Draco's cheek, his taste, his boldness. With Ginny it always felt so wrong, so soft, so yielding.

Harry pushed Draco away for just a second. "I, uh, you want to…" he hinted.

"Take this up to my room? I'd love to. Hold on, Potter," Draco demanded. With a pop they disappeared only to reappear in Draco's spacious bedroom. Unlike in Potter's room, there were no pictures of friends, no portraits of family (these were all located elsewhere in Malfoy Manor, including a few well-done paintings of the serious, shrewd family of blonds currently living there), very few personal effects at all. Draco only had expensive furniture, some lovely art (though none of the paintings had people in them) and a few articles of clothing draped over a chair or the dresser. One wall was a bookshelf, but otherwise no one would know that this room belonged to Draco and only Draco. It might have been mistaken for a guest room.

Malfoy pushed the other man to his bed, flicked his wand so that Harry was stripped and grinned wolfishly at what he saw there. "My, my, you are in trouble." Harry grabbed his wand and cast the same spell on Malfoy. "Nice, Potter." Malfoy pounced. Both naked, their wands rolling down to the floor, their mouths found each other and hastily familiarized one tongue with the other. Draco was the first to moan, but Harry happily followed suit.

"Oh, stop, Malfoy! Please, I need to breathe!" Draco laughed at Harry's words but allowed Harry the room to breathe while his mouth explored more of Harry's darker skin. He kissed down Harry's stomach, running his fingers through the coarse hair beneath his navel, leading to his thick erection which was nestled at the base by another nice patch of hair. Draco was rather fond of hair.

Harry heard a loud moan from nearby as he felt Draco encompassing his cock with his mouth, only to discover it was in fact his own mouth making the delightful noise. Draco glanced up in time to see the surprised expression on Harry's face, which only made him smirk around his mouthful. He sucked on the warm cock in his mouth, an action which forced Harry to grip the blond hair. Draco groaned as sucked Harry's cock further down his throat, wincing just a bit as the head roughly came into contact with the back of Draco's throat. Harry had thrust accidentally. Quickly Draco recovered, but he still back off a bit to just lavish the head with his tongue, lips and teeth.

"Ugh, don't stop." Malfoy raised a pale brow at Harry, but he didn't chuckle like he wanted to. Instead he continued to suck Harry off. Of course Ginny had never used her mouth like _this_. Harry was wondering why he hadn't gotten a blow job from a man before. Draco knew what he was doing to Harry and that made Harry feel so much better about this whole thing. If Draco could do this, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for Harry to be able to do this to Draco and bring him pleasure. Of course he would have to practice, but there was a lot of potential fun in that.

While he rolled Harry's balls in his hand, Draco realized Harry wasn't going to last very long. He pulled his mouth away from Harry, much to Harry's chagrin, and reached for the nightstand to grab some lubricant.

Even as he coated his fingers, Draco gave Harry a serious look. "Are you sure you want this?" he had to ask.

"Yeah, I need it. Fuck. I need something! Just fuck me, Draco, please!" Harry begged. Draco needed no further persuasion and gently pressed two fingers into Draco's arse so he could begin to prepare him. At first it stung and Harry wasn't sure if he would like it. He didn't feel anything but discomfort, however there was no pain. It didn't take him long to get used to the idea and began to relax and welcome the intrusion, begging for more of it as Draco found and abused Harry's prostate. After a third finger forced its way in until the body beneath Draco was yielding and ready, Draco gave Harry one last chance to change his mind before he buried himself into Harry's body, resulting in two loud moans.

Draco took his time building up his speed. He didn't want to rip the other man in half, but he definitely wanted to feel some friction. It didn't take long for the pair of them to find a comfortable pace. Harry had to wrap his arms around Draco's shoulders just to keep himself together while Draco's mouth found Harry's. They lingered in a sloppy kiss while Draco forcefully fucked Harry, rocking his hips in such a way that Harry never had a moment to catch his breath from the attention to his prostate.

Harry pulled one of his hands away so he could take his leaking erection into his hand and pumped it. In the haze of their slight drunken state, time seemed to pass too quickly, but neither man minded. They felt good and that was all that really mattered. When Harry came, Draco wasn't far behind him. It was sloppy and not as fulfilling as Draco had expected, but Harry was satisfied enough. Draco pulled out and hunted for his wand so he could syphon up the mess with a spell.

"Draco, that was… much better than with Ginny," Harry sighed.

"Don't compare me to your wife, Potter," Draco reminded. He collapsed onto his back, allowing Harry to cuddle up against his side. "You need more practice." Harry frowned, but his smile came back as he realized what that meant. It meant Harry would get to do this again and it would be better. Draco felt like this was partly his fault. He hadn't given Harry much instruction. Next time, he'd be sure to use vocal commands and he'd be sure to keep them both sober.

"Are you staying the night here?" Draco asked Harry who nodded and nuzzled Draco's chest. Draco laughed, but his lips froze as Harry caught eye of the Mark on his arm. Harry took Draco's hand so he could get a better look. "Potter, don't… Don't you dare touch it." His voice trembled as Harry's fingers hovered over the Dark Mark. Voldemort had been able to summon Death Eaters simply by touching it. Harry had been touched by Voldemort. Harry had some of Voldemort's powers. If Harry touched it, would they come? Would they all appear in his room in the middle of the night? Draco squeezed his eyes closed until he felt Harry move. Harry's fingers grazed the skin there. Nothing happened. Nothing changed. Draco sighed heavily. "Don't ever do that again, Potter."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Harry muttered. He too had been expecting Death Eaters to appear, even though Voldemort was dead and had been for a long time. He kissed Draco then, pulling the blankets up around them and settling back on Draco's chest. He fell asleep like that, sleeping better than he had in a few weeks.


	3. The Dark Lord's Wing

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! This is my most successful work I've ever posted here. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It is a little slower, but there are a few things I felt needed to be said. I will try to update again tomorrow. Please enjoy!**

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The next morning Draco was nowhere to be found. Harry panicked for a moment, assuming he'd been abandoned, but then realizing that was a load of rubbish. He was in Malfoy Manor. Draco wouldn't leave him here. It wasn't Harry's home. He sat up in the large bed, listening to the old house. He heard the faint sound of steps down one hall, but they were too light and sharp to be Draco's. They sounded like a woman's shoe. He concentrated on other noises. He found a robe draped over a chair with a piece of parchment on the chair. It had his name on it.

"Harry," it read, "wear this if you'd like. Bathroom is the second door on the left of my room." He looked over to see the door was slightly cracked, light working its way through the slight opening. He nudged it open, ignoring the robe, and followed the sounds of a bath. He had to go through two other doors to get there, but they were all open.

"Potter," Draco acknowledged as he saw Harry stepping into the steamy room. He was in the middle of a bath. He'd already shaved. He was about to lie back under the water for a moment before he saw the other man.

Harry stammered a bit and rubbed his arm. He became very aware of his nudity and of Draco's. There were no bubbles in the bath so he was able to see everything without the haze of several drinks to make him braver. He watched as the blond male disappeared under the water to wet his hair. Harry had to look away.

When Draco resurfaced, he looked annoyed. "Get in, then," he grumbled. He wasn't much of a morning person at all and he wasn't used to sharing his morning ritual with anyone before breakfast. He rolled his eyes as Harry tried to figure out what he was going to do and then finally got into the large tub. The bath itself was awkward, neither man speaking to the other, though a few bold caresses were exchanged, and a heavy snog was shared.

It was breakfast which really peaked Harry's interest in the day-to-day Malfoy affairs. The house elves had cooked up a delicious breakfast, but Draco didn't touch it. Harry followed Draco's lead after his foot was kicked when he tried to tuck in.

After a few minutes of waiting, the light footsteps Harry had heard before reappeared, this time with a body and face to match. Narcissa glided down the stairs, already dressed and gleaming. Draco stood and embraced his mother who looked like she had never smiled a day in her life, nor would she ever do it. The son kissed the mother's cheek; they separated and she sat down before Draco would take his seat.

At first Narcissa didn't take notice of Harry sitting at her table with a plate full of food. She only raised a brow at him when he wished her a good morning.

"Draco," she started as she reached for her morning cup of tea. "When did Harry Potter enter my house?"

Harry shifted in his seat as the pair began to speak like he wasn't there.

"I brought him home, Mother."

"You know what he did."

"I know exactly what he did," Draco hissed.

"Then you'd bloody well act like it! You can't just forget about the things he has done! You can't just bring him here for a quick shag like it's nothing!" Narcissa put a hand to her mouth, trying to forget the pain that followed her, the pain that had followed her family for generations.

"I'm sorry. I'll just… I'll just go then. I didn't mean to disturb anything," Harry mumbled making a move to stand.

"Don't go anywhere," Narcissa commanded. "Let's get one thing straight." She turned on Harry, her face contorted with anguish. "You saved my Draco. You saved me. You saved this home, but not my husband. You couldn't save him. You could not save my name. But you saved my son from a terrible fate. We owe you so much indeed. He would hate to admit it, but you saved Lucius's life. For a short time, anyway." Harry glanced at one of the portraits of the Malfoy family painted a few years ago. Scorpius was about to start his first year at Hogwarts. His mother was not in this painting. Draco looked faintly happy, but Draco's parents looked miserable. He remembered the headlines from _The Daily Prophet_ which were printed that same month. _Infamous Death Eater Lucius Malfoy Found Dead_, _Head of Malfoy House Commits Suicide_, _Draco Malfoy: Is He Doomed for the Same Fate?_ These were the most frequently seen articles. Lucius was dead. He was buried in the family cemetery deep in the southern lawn of the manor.

Harry bit his lip. What words would he be able to give to this woman? He couldn't tell her things would be okay. He couldn't tell her that he understood. He couldn't thank her. Instead, he reached out and touched her fingertips with his own. She nodded demurely.

"Mother, Potter is divorcing his wife. I suspect he could use one of your many contacts," Draco said, just to break the long silence which had followed Narcissa's small speech.

"Of course." Narcissa tucked her head down and nibbled at her breakfast. For all his faults, Lucius had been a good man to her. She had loved him. He was a devoted father, as she was a devoted mother.

Potter looked to Draco, trying to smile. Draco did not know how to do that, not even around his son. His son was the only thing he truly loved. He was loyal to his mother, but he was not sure how much of that was real love. He had never been happy. He had been close to it, but for only a few years when he was too young to understand the gravity of the situation. He had been close to happiness for three years, but it all stopped the summer Voldemort came back from the dead.

For the most part, breakfast, as usual, was silent. Draco waited until his mother had finished to stand. The servants cleaned up the mess for them.

"Come with me, Potter. I want to show you something," Draco said quietly. He was about to do something he'd never done before. He was about to go to the room where Voldemort had stayed. The man… No. He had never really been a man. The monster had lived in the largest bedroom, the room which, until that point, had been inhabited by Draco's parents.

Harry followed Draco up winding staircases which reminded him of a few of the towers at Hogwarts. Up they went to the second highest level. No one dared touch the half of this floor that Voldemort had marked as his own. On the door was a writhing Dark Mark, the tongue hissing cruelly as they approached it.

"We have tried every spell we could think of to get rid of it. We've devised a few of our own. We've used potions and different sorts of magic to erase it but it is just as permanent as this," Draco whispered, drawing up his sleeve so that his own Dark Mark was plainly displayed. The snake on his arm slithered in and out of the skull. It hurt. Draco never got this close to the door, so he had never experienced so much pain.

"I think I might like to go in, Draco," Harry asked, his hand reaching out to take Draco's hand or to open the door, whichever Draco allowed first, if either. The blond began to reach for the offered hand but withdrew and instead forced open the door with his wand. He refused to touch it.

The room itself perpetually smelled of smoke and ash. They had tried to burn everything within the room to rid themselves of the plague. Instead of dying off, the memories expanded and multiplied and all members of the household felt as though something had changed. Even now that both Draco and Harry were still and silent, an eerie breeze rustled piles of ash, tickling the sleeping dragon Draco knew was hiding under the remains of the bed.

Draco would not walk beyond the threshold of the door, but he hated being so close to the spooky door in the first place. Harry, on the other hand, was intrigued.

"It feels like him, if that makes any sense."

Draco clenched his jaws in response. "If my mother was not so attached to the place, I'd have us all moved, including my father's bones. The rest of them could stay here. I don't want to have anything to do with them. They were not here to assist with anything. They did not fight for their right to live on this land. They didn't have _him_ living amongst them, mocking them, torturing them, threatening them with death if they didn't murder others. Harry, I need you to know that he would have killed my whole family if I didn't do as he asked. I had to be the one to kill Dumbledore. It had to be me. He didn't believe my parents could do it, but he was willing to give them one more chance by using me. All I wanted to do was to stay out of it. Of course there used to be a time when I envied my father's Death Eater status. All of us did. Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini. All of us. My wife seemed to be the exception. She is the type of person who never cares about anything but herself. Her selfishness rivaled Voldemort's and mine. Scorpius knows about our past, but he idolizes you, Harry. I don't want that. I want him to look to me for answers, not to your son and to you."

Draco's words stung Harry a bit. He knew that Scorpius and Albus were close friends, but he didn't know that Draco's son desperately envied his friend's life. Scorpius had not had a difficult life, but he was always surrounded by the world's perception of his father, grandmother, and especially his grandfather. He was always aware of the hate that had once poured freely from the Malfoy home, aware that it had harbored the most hated man in the wizarding world. He knew what his great aunt had done to Teddy's family, what she had done to Harry's godfather, what she had done to Hermione and Dobby and countless others. He knew that his father had tried to kill Dumbledore. He knew that his father had tortured Thorfinn Rowle. He also knew that if it weren't for Harry Potter, his father would have been in Azkaban forever and he would have never existed. He knew that Harry Potter had saved his father's life twice, with an implied third rescue from a life sentence in Azkaban. Scorpius had never seen his father really smile unless the man was drunk or delirious with pain.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I know you love him. Al's always telling me how you send him letters every day and send him whatever he could need or want. I know you are devoted to your son. I'm sorry that he doesn't look up to you like he should," Harry said, barely audible. He pushed his unruly hair out of his face and stared around the room, but he had had enough of the ghosts that whispered to him here. He stepped closer to Draco who took a step back.

Draco turned away from Harry, walking back down the stairs to one of the libraries he had made into his sanctuaries. As Harry followed, he realized that Hermione would die to be able to live in a house with three fully stocked libraries, each roughly the size of the library at Hogwarts.

"I don't know how long you are going to stay here, Potter, but you are welcome to my home. I'll leave the decision up to you about continuing this… affair. I have some work I need to do today, and I suppose I need to talk to Astoria. I think she's ready to end our little charade, although it does benefit her. She likes the money and the clothes and the infamy. She loves our son, though I almost wish she wouldn't. It would make leaving her easier," he said. He was sitting on a sofa with his eyes closed.

"Draco, I think I would like to continue to spend time with you. I would like to spend more time with you and get to know you. I want to divorce my wife and find happiness with someone. I'd like to see if that someone is you. I'd like to get to know your son and have you know my children. If you want to leave your wife, I would not mind helping you at all with that too."

Draco smiled slightly. The left half of his mouth curled up gently and his eyes opened, softened. "You sound like you're making a commitment, Potter. We don't even know each other. Don't commit yourself to me. I agree that getting to know each other would be great, but it isn't like we are getting married. Don't make it sound like that."

"Hey, Draco?"

"Potter?"

"Please call me Harry."


End file.
